World’s thinnest wireless keyboard also acts as a large flexible touch surface

Cambridge-based company CSR has created what it believes to be the world’s thinnest wireless keyboard while at the same time allowing it to take the form of a flexible touch-enabled sheet.

It’s actually a flexible, wireless touch surface that is just 0.5mm thick. That allows it to easily slip inside a tablet or smartphone case, and because it is wireless it offers up a very convenient way to type on a surface that doesn’t cover any of your tablet or smartphone’s display.

Such a thin device was made possible by CSR joining forces with Conductive Inkjet Technology and Atmel. The interface is printed on to the surface using CIT’s printed conductors, and the touch interface is achieved using Atmel’s touch silicon, which allows for a multi-touch interface. The wireless connection is courtesy of CSR’s Bluetooth Smart solution, making it a very low power peripheral.

The end result is a keyboard with a latency below 12ms that is compatible with any device accepting a Bluetooth connection. As it is printed, the keyboard can be produced at any size, meaning it can be manufactured to complement any device type, but that’s just one use case for this peripheral.

As the surface is so thin, it could actually be integrated into a smart cover for a device. It also doesn’t have to be a keyboard–you could just as easily use it like a drawing surface and even place a piece of paper over it and trace an image into digital form using a stylus. Handwriting recognition is also possible, effectively turning it into a reusable sheet of digital paper.

For the moment the ultra-thin surface is just a prototype that will be demonstrated at IFA 2013 in Berlin later this week. CSR does have plans to bring it to market, but it’s unclear in what form it will arrive first. I suspect a range of touch keyboards and drawing surfaces for tablets and smartphones will appear initially.